Fun Fall Fotos

The youngest with the oldest. Everyone looks forward to Allison being home for a weekend.

Natalie (midfield in purple) getting it done for her soccer team.

Joel working hard on the computer.

Molly in the mix playing soccer.

Brandon in the goal for his team.

Allison bought these chairs at Goodwill for a few dollars, the table we had already.

Here is the finished product in her apartment building at school.

Here is what the chairs looked like in the process of re-doing them.
They had been an ugly brown color, here they are primed.


Nathan enjoying the fall festival in our town.

Daniel and Brandon about to do the swings. Brandon wasn't too sure about what he was getting himself into.

If you look closely Ken and Brandon are in the middle of this ship, with daredevils Molly and Daniel near the end.

Brandon as Nathan's buddy.

#9 Molly

Molly turned 9 back in September (I know I am very slow with my posting.) Molly is the cup 1/2 full person in our house, she is the one to make us laugh with her crazy sayings. Molly plays the piano, reluctantly, loves Barbies, her American Girl doll, and anything pink. She spends many hours playing teacher. She is a girlie, girl that happens to be interested in bugs and riding her bike.

Happy 9th Birthday Molly!

Mooom, I Need Help!

Molly has done her own hair for a long time and 'usually' does a great job! But one day things went wrong...

Ken and I both worked at it for a long time. Just when we thought we were going to have to use the scissors....

Ken was able to get it out. Not sure her hair ever has totally recovered. Phew!

She is being much more careful these days.

Small Road Trip

Our 3 soccer teams are done, cross country has ended and we are into our school routine. We have hit some bumps at times, some larger than others. We are making it, though some days it may be more honest to say that we are enduring.

Saturday we decided that we would take a road trip but we didn't have really anywhere we especially wanted to go. So what to do?..... Natalie wrote out a bunch of directions on slips of paper. For example "turn right at the next corner" or "go 7.2 miles and then turn left" amongst others. We put them in a coffee mug and hopped in to see where we would end up!

We pulled out the directions one at a time and wondered where they would lead us. Our drive took us through much farmland where we saw horses, goats, sheep, and cows. Most of the farmers were done with their harvest so the fields seemed rather large. The kids often commented through the trip about what they were seeing. No Ipods, no toys, just us. It was a fun adventure. It didn't take us anywhere special but it was a special time. At the end we ran into a grocery we found and bought caramel apple doughnuts and juice and had a snack then headed home. It was a simple time but a great change of scenery.

Back home we are focusing on putting others before ourselves, both at home and away from home. We are also focusing on being "doers of the Word". Some of us are more successful at this than others but we continue to work on it.

As we are now in November it is our desire to have our family focus on the abundance of blessings that are surrounding us! I love the month of November when we take the time to say thank you to the Lord for all that He provides. The Lord truly has provided us with all that we need and much, much more.

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A Tale of Two Birthdays

I have shared this story before but I take some time this morning to share it again.... While adopting from Guatemala and after precious Grace went home to be with the Lord we were waiting for a referral. It was getting close to Natalie's birthday and she would pray each night that we would get a referral on her birthday. Sadly her birthday came and went without a referral. Not quite two weeks after Natalie's birthday we received our referral (a wonderful day!) and found that not only would Nathan be a part of our family but he was born on Natalie's birthday! We were amazed at how God had answered Natalie's prayer for without us even knowing the Lord had given us a referral on Natalie's birthday.

Natalie is now a teenager and Nathan is 3! Happy Belated Birthday to both of you!





Natalie it has been alot of fun this summer watching you grow closer to the Lord. I love your desire to be in the Word and to learn.













Nathan you go with the flow, as is needed in the 7th child. You are such a little cheerleader for our family.

We love you both so very much! You are both such a blessing to our family!

Happy Birthday Natalie and Nathan!

Stuff in my Head

I find that I have less time to post then I used to so I have continued to contemplate why I blog and the value of the time it takes. When I mentioned to Ken my thoughts his reply was, "it is such a great record for our kids". So.... guess I'll stay with it a little longer.

Brandon's 1st day of 2nd Grade
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Our school year has started and that is always an adjustment of sorts. Schooling is a year to year decision in our home. This year we have a junior in college, a freshmen and senior (last semester) in high school, a 7th grader, and 2nd and 3rd grader. The younger 5 in our public school. Nathan and I manage our home together. The adjustment this year has been a little bit more of a challenge as two of the kids moved up to a new school, but not bad.

Molly's new desk in 3rd grade
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Our children are not overly involved in activities, the problem is that the one thing they choose to do is all at the same time. Right now we have 3 playing soccer - yes 3 different teams, and one running cross country. It still is rare that we do not eat dinner together, though the time changes with the schedule. It is a light and momentary time so it is doable, it is also a lot of fun to watch how each has progressed from last year.

The college move-in crew - Allison's Junior year

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Natalie is very excited about being a part of our junior high youth group. Joel is filling out college applications. We are trying to get Nathan interested in potty training. Time marches on.

I have been thinking through what I want to do differently this school year to help our home run more efficiently. I have a couple of goals in mind but not ready to write them down yet.

Nathan looking cute

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No Longer a Teenager!

We have this wonderful young lady that lives in our home some of the time. There are clothes in her hamper, her bed is slept in and at times she comes with many friends in tow. She has been known to make yummy crepes, biscuits and gravy and many pans of brownies. She is a delight!

Last month Allison turned 20 and I wondered where the years have gone. We are getting deeper into that tender stage of life where her independence is becoming greater than her dependence on us. This is a bittersweet time as this is what we have brought her up to do - follow the Lord independently of us but it is with the realization that we have a different role in her life.

For fun here are 10 things I love about Allison (not in any particular order):

1. I love that she desires to "Trust God" in all things.

2. I love when she gets goofy when she is tired and starts doing weird things.

3. I love that she has a love for people of all kinds and acts on it.

4. I love that she is my daughter!

5. I love her beautiful dark hair.

6. I love that she is a great big sister, setting a very good example for her younger siblings.

7. I love that she has a servant's heart.

8. I love that she is girly.

9. I love her insights into people.

10. I love that she talks to me about important things in her life!

So, Happy Belated Birthday Allison! 20 years ago you were a precious gift to us and you continue to be a wonderful gift from the Lord today!